I. Maximum Armor stacking Guide/Numbers- I DID NOT INCLUDE RIOT SHIELD as I assume combat character would prefet to two-handed Assault Rifle or at least 2x Pistols/SMGs, no a shield and cut his damage. Of course Octo/Takko morphs could have multiple shields, but I focused here on standard humanoid morphs. If you want to add Riot Shield please add to end results 3/3 armor values per Riot Shield.

Maximum Armor stack for Guard Moprh = 52/45. With Structual Enchanced Guard has 50 Durability (you need to increase DUR to 55 with another mod to fully use max stack, use Respirocytes +5 DUR 1 CP). Guard Deluxe has 50 DUR so with Structural Enchancement it will be 60 so no problems here.

Maximum Armor stack for Reaper = 56/49. Reaper has SE included and DUR of 70 with it so no problem.

Maximum Armor stack for Biomorphs = 39/34. Most combat biomorphs have 40 DUR so no problem here. Fury has 50 DUR so even less problem.

So Steel 8/8 would have on average 21/21 with Heavy Body Armor, 24/24 with Heavy Combat Armor.

Guard 12/12 - 25/25 or 28/28.

Biomorph - 13/13 or 16/17 with Bioweave (Heavy) if morph has it.

The above stacking is not that expensive, however if you egocast to some other habitat you will either have to buy everything or have blueprints for every armor/mod.

Also while you can bluepring and craft Body Armor and simple wear it, as a Syth you need to get your Combat Armor to be applied to your body. So I guess you'd require also a Healing Vat (or Character with high Robotics) here or else you need to rely on Body Armor.

When you compare Steel/Fierce Kite Morph to Biomorphs the difference in armor is not THAT big. It's 9/7 difference at max stack. However that difference is becoming bigger with Guard and Reaper.

III. Your Combat synthmorph.

Steel vs Guard vs Fierce Kite for Combat Character. In my opinion based Guard is better because it costs only 10 (steel) or 5 (Fierce Kite) CP more and is equiped with Neurachem Lvl 1 (which is 5 CP cost) and more armor and Synth Mask. Steel with Neruachem would Cost 55 CP + Synthethic Mask 1 CP (so same as Fierce kite basicelly). So we have 56CP Steel vs 60CP Guard vs 55 CP Fierce kite (also have Neurachem). Is 4-5 CP difference worth 4/4 more armor? In my opinion yes for a combat character. However keep in mind Takko morph- beast for ambidex build with 8 Arms and 8/8 armor. 4 Assault Rifles please? CP cost 60. I would take it over Guard only if I'd like to make ambidex build. But if I egocast to humanoid.. well, all that abi traits go to waste.

Fierce kite is DUR 50 WT 10 for 55 CP with Neurachem (1). 55 CP. Very worth motph, but it's slow when it's not flying Walker (2/8) so I tend to prefer Guard here or Steel. Not that Fierce Kite is bad, but you have to pack into Flight here, and I strongly prefer Freefall over Flight and Freerunning.

Then we have Guard Deluxe which costs 75 CP (same as Fury). Is it worth to have 10 more durability and 2 more Wound Threshold for 15 CP more? Imo no, but is Guard Deluxe better than Fury?- yes, absolutely. But Fury is general the least worth money for it's cost. +12/+12 armor and other synth advantages + nacroalgorithms + robotic enchancments makes Guard Deluxe MUCH better investment of 75 CP than Fury.

But in my opinion you should never buy morph for more than 60CP (though I think 50 is where the best for buck ends). It's better to use those 15 CP to buy software and drugs/nacroalgorythms and weapon/ammo/drug/implants blueprints.

IV. Biomorph vs Synthmorph for Combat Character.
I prefer synthmorphs and I think overall they are better at Combat oriented PCs. Reasons:

Advantage:
1. Higher Base Armor without having to invest time and money for Bioweave each time you egocast.
2. Immunity to Shock Weapons - that is huge really. If you get hit 3-4 times by zap rounds- you risk every turn to just fall down and lie there and even if you succeed- you will suffer -30 to all tests just for being HIT by zap.
3. High G, vaccum sealed, high temp tolerance, 1 wound ignored- again, saving money and time when you egocast
4. Immunity to toxins, pathogens, chemicals etc. Again- that can be mimic with Toxic Filter/Medichines etc but again- money and time saving. Also you don't have to eat or sleep, you do not get tired etc. - always good for soldier, no?
5. Robotc Enchancments- things like Structural Enchanement (2 more WT and +10 DUR is huge, especially 2 more Wound Threshold is great when combined with higher armor), Weapon Mounts (doesn't count as off-hand), concealing weapons inside your limbs, mobility systems, 360 degree view, magnetic, Combat Armor etc. all really help combat based char.
6. 2x DUR as oppesed to 1,5x DUR for meatbags. Again- this is great for frontliner.
7. Narcoalgorithms - they are software so they egocast with you. Bum. And they last longer than chem-based ones. If you have a hacker PC in your party- he can work with them too. Still recommend to have Drug Gland blueprints.
8. Easier to make/produce. Even Reaper is easier to find than Remande morph, due to Synths being made in hours.
9. -30 to Kinesics for everyone. It helps.
10. Small but still +2 DV to unarmed attacks. Always something.
11. You can combie that above with Psi Sleights due to Brain Box. If you want.
12. Faster and easier resleeving (cyberbrain).
13. Naked synth vs Naked bio (same CP range) if you egocast= synth will always be better by default for combat.

Disatvantage:
1. Social Stigma, generally lack of social acceptance etc etc= well, combat char usually don't give a dam anyway about it.
2. Cyberbrain Hacking. That can be huge, BUT it's really not. Have your Hacker friend ride in your ghostrider module and he will protect you (with his insane infosec tests). Buy Firewall + Ectos and you are also good to go. OR just buy a Brain Box (Moderate only) and be immune to hacks while still taking whole advantage of Synth body.
3. Drug addictions are mental so be sure to have at least 20-25 (I like 25) WIL to be good with narcoalgorythms. And high WIL is NEVER bad.

Morph Recommendation: Guard or Steel. Reaper is just too expensive. Guard Deluxe is not worth extra 15 CP. Fierce Kite is worth if you don't mind having to fly/levitate all the time and having to pack skill point into Flight to fully use it.

V. However Biomorphs take credit of having absolutely imo the most worth and best worth your bucks morph ever: THESEUS.

If you want to be Biomorph Combat Character- Theseus is best what you can get. For 5 CP you can have Neurachem, and for 1 CP you get High-G Augmentation +5 DUR and +5 SOM and 1 CP Respirocytes for another +5 DUR (50 DUR total now) and have basicelly a Fury morph for 37 CP (50 DUR, +10 SOM, Nurachem). Your WT is 2 lower but you still have 33 CP difference to play with ;). Theseus vs Steel/Guard costs respectively 20 and 30 CP less. That can be 20-30 CP worth of blueprints or software/skillsofts.

As Biomorph (simillar to Synth) you want to build around using Combat Drugs like Kick + MRDR (plus Drive and Klar if possible since they have no downsides). Always buy posion glads blueprint (so you don't need to pay for them in Healing Vat, just for installment) and drugs blueprints. As a Biomorph be sure to take Drug Exception trait (Ego) - 10 CP. This will give you +20 to tests vs addicion on one drug. I would suggest Kick or MRDR. If you also take Psychosurgery (recommended for both Synth and Bio) you can use Behavioural Control to cure yourself from addiction if necessary using Alpha Fork/s. Combat drugs are imo better than spending money on Reflex Booster or Neurachem lvl 2. Neurachem lvl 1 + Kick + MRDR = 4 Speed at MUCH lower cost plus +10 to SOM, +10 to REF, +10 to DUR and ignore 1 wound. Narcoalgorythms are even better because they are software so you always have them when you egocast. And drugs give more unique touch to combat PC :). With 25 Wil (and maybe +5 from morph) you have 75-90 throws against addiction as Synth and 95-110 as Bio with Drug Exception trat vs either Kick or MRDR.

Hope it will help some people who plan for Combat Character! All above is only how I see it (as GM and combat chars fan)!

In other threads we had our disagreements. But I came around. This guide gets a Definitive MinMaxed Munchkin Seal of Aproval.

So does anyone want to see my glittering glamorous silver Reaper morph wearing future spandex and with combat helmet welded on top?

EDIT:

Ablative patches + reactive coating? That's obscene :D is it on top of the Reaper's Second Skin or under? Cause when its get hit reactive coating would bloat like a puffer fish. So you would be even more literal ball of death :-)

—

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In other threads we had our disagreements. But I came around. This guide gets a Definitive MinMaxed Munchkin Seal of Aproval.

So does anyone want to see my glittering glamorous silver Reaper morph wearing future spandex and with combat helmet welded on top?

EDIT:

Ablative patches + reactive coating? That's obscene :D is it on top of the Reaper's Second Skin or under? Cause when its get hit reactive coating would bloat like a puffer fish. So you would be even more literal ball of death :-)

Heh, I would call that discsussion :D. EP corebook has so many holes that it is impossible to not discuss totally different interpretations of many things.

Thanks for the Seal :). Proud to be powergamer.

Reaper with Helmet is so lol :D. But I prefer to imagine that as more of a flat plate for front frame protecting the sensors/eyes area :). As for Ablative patches + reactive coating= rules allow it so lets get rolling!

The thing is: The Shredder on FA in Close distance (extra 1d10 for Spray Weapons) will ALWAYS be better than any melee. Always. Dual Wield Shredders? Well.. And enemy Fray is cut in half? Yeah baby. Penalty you say? As a combat char you have effective 90-100 test with weapon anyway so not a big deal. Ow... and lets coat that 100 diamond niddles with Necrossi or Twitch, huh?

So my advice is: while it is fun to have space-ninja build, collecting all necessary upgrades/auguments/sleights etc, buying extra weapons etc. to fully utilize it...

How about just buy yourself Shredder blueprint, craft it everytime you egocast and laugh your ass off at every guy that runs towards you swinging swords while your diamond shards transforms him to mist? Did I mention 100 ammo capacity and NO NEED for any augumentations/implants? Or as a Synthmorph simple concleaded Shredder in your limb.

Melee is cool, marial arts are cool, space ninjas are cool. Guns are just better.

Yeah my character just bought a Riot Shield to wield with Shredder (it is unclear if they are 2 handed).
Shredders are perfect for one thing. Delivering BTX2, Twitch and Neuropath. Eventually Saboteur Nanobots. Sprayer won't penetrate armor, but -10AP and full auto to cover 5 targets it deffinietly will. Encounter is won by the one who shot first.

—

Exurgents wanna eat your ass and you are low on ammo? Register to mobile gear catalogue at eldrich.host.mesh! ORDER NOW! FOR FREE PLASMA MINIMISSILE PACK! *explosive delivery options included

Yeah my character just bought a Riot Shield to wield with Shredder (it is unclear if they are 2 handed).
Shredders are perfect for one thing. Delivering BTX2, Twitch and Neuropath. Eventually Saboteur Nanobots. Sprayer won't penetrate armor, but -10AP and full auto to cover 5 targets it deffinietly will. Encounter is won by the one who shot first.

I always treat shredder as heavy pistol. Corebook says that Shredder is heavier version of Shard Pistol. Pistol. Also every other weapon that is two handed has it mentioned in description. If it has not (like Kinetic Pistols) - that means it's 1 handed. So I always treat them same as Heavy Kinetic Pistol.

If you want to be Biomorph Combat Character- Theseus is best what you can get. For 5 CP you can have Neurachem, and for 1 CP you get High-G Augmentation +5 DUR and +5 SOM and 1 CP Respirocytes for another +5 DUR (50 DUR total now) and have basicelly a Fury morph for 37 CP (50 DUR, +10 SOM, Nurachem). Your WT is 2 lower but you still have 33 CP difference to play with ;). Theseus vs Steel/Guard costs respectively 20 and 30 CP less. That can be 20-30 CP worth of blueprints or software/skillsofts.

As Biomorph (simillar to Synth) you want to build around using Combat Drugs like Kick + MRDR (plus Drive and Klar if possible since they have no downsides). Always buy posion glads blueprint (so you don't need to pay for them in Healing Vat, just for installment) and drugs blueprints. As a Biomorph be sure to take Drug Exception trait (Ego) - 10 CP. This will give you +20 to tests vs addicion on one drug. I would suggest Kick or MRDR. If you also take Psychosurgery (recommended for both Synth and Bio) you can use Behavioural Control to cure yourself from addiction if necessary using Alpha Fork/s. Combat drugs are imo better than spending money on Reflex Booster or Neurachem lvl 2. Neurachem lvl 1 + Kick + MRDR = 4 Speed at MUCH lower cost plus +10 to SOM, +10 to REF, +10 to DUR and ignore 1 wound. Narcoalgorythms are even better because they are software so you always have them when you egocast. And drugs give more unique touch to combat PC :). With 25 Wil (and maybe +5 from morph) you have 75-90 throws against addiction as Synth and 95-110 as Bio with Drug Exception trat vs either Kick or MRDR.

Hope it will help some people who plan for Combat Character! All above is only how I see it (as GM and combat chars fan)!

What's your opinion on the salamander morph?
For me it seems the salamander would actually make a better combat morph than the Theseus since you start with a base durability of 60 for only 40cp which is the best DUR/CP for any morph with over 40 DUR and since it lacks any DUR enchancing augmentations you can get the DUR to 70 for only 42CP however I'm curious of your opinion since it lacks many useful augmentations compared to the theseus.

If you want to be Biomorph Combat Character- Theseus is best what you can get. For 5 CP you can have Neurachem, and for 1 CP you get High-G Augmentation +5 DUR and +5 SOM and 1 CP Respirocytes for another +5 DUR (50 DUR total now) and have basicelly a Fury morph for 37 CP (50 DUR, +10 SOM, Nurachem). Your WT is 2 lower but you still have 33 CP difference to play with ;). Theseus vs Steel/Guard costs respectively 20 and 30 CP less. That can be 20-30 CP worth of blueprints or software/skillsofts.

As Biomorph (simillar to Synth) you want to build around using Combat Drugs like Kick + MRDR (plus Drive and Klar if possible since they have no downsides). Always buy posion glads blueprint (so you don't need to pay for them in Healing Vat, just for installment) and drugs blueprints. As a Biomorph be sure to take Drug Exception trait (Ego) - 10 CP. This will give you +20 to tests vs addicion on one drug. I would suggest Kick or MRDR. If you also take Psychosurgery (recommended for both Synth and Bio) you can use Behavioural Control to cure yourself from addiction if necessary using Alpha Fork/s. Combat drugs are imo better than spending money on Reflex Booster or Neurachem lvl 2. Neurachem lvl 1 + Kick + MRDR = 4 Speed at MUCH lower cost plus +10 to SOM, +10 to REF, +10 to DUR and ignore 1 wound. Narcoalgorythms are even better because they are software so you always have them when you egocast. And drugs give more unique touch to combat PC :). With 25 Wil (and maybe +5 from morph) you have 75-90 throws against addiction as Synth and 95-110 as Bio with Drug Exception trat vs either Kick or MRDR.

Hope it will help some people who plan for Combat Character! All above is only how I see it (as GM and combat chars fan)!

What's your opinion on the salamander morph?
For me it seems the salamander would actually make a better combat morph than the Theseus since you start with a base durability of 60 for only 40cp which is the best DUR/CP for any morph with over 40 DUR and since it lacks any DUR enchancing augmentations you can get the DUR to 70 for only 42CP however I'm curious of your opinion since it lacks many useful augmentations compared to the theseus.

When I think of egocasting I always take into consideration the default auguments of morph. Sometimes you just don't have time to sit and wait for blueprints to be crafted (or there is no place to buy all you want) and then visit local healing vat and wait for everything to be installed. So I like having good implant from start and Theseus is hard to beat for 30 CP, as it immidietly protects you from the worst bio can face- toxins, chems, nanotoxins, temp etc and you have emergency farcast too which is useful on cover ops. Salamanders also have bonus to INT and COO, and I prefer SOM and WIL, because I tend to cut SOM (as usually every synth and good combat bio has SOM bonus) to boost other appt and INT is also not something that I would take over a WIL (since I build combat chars for drugs). But they have +5 to any other so that is good too!

Also don't forget they start with Coronal Metabolism trait!!! :

"For biomorphs, this radical alteration enables the subject’s metabolism to live off solar energy, using medichines to repair radiation damage. This same metabolism also generates powerful electromagnetic fields that protect the character from the intense temperatures and radiation in the coronal environment and even enable the character to sail the solar winds. Morphs with this adaptation cannot survive outside the coronal environment (or similar environments) for more than a few days without extensive medical support. Coronal adaptation can only be applied to morphs that also have medichines."

Same Slitheroids- for 40 CP they have good stats (45 DUR, 9 WT, armor 8/8) but lack of any good implants on start, while Guard starts with Neurachem.

But yeah, I am not fan of biomorphs for combat char (weapon mounts, shock resistance and armor are too good) Salamander is ok choice but Coronal Metabolism is not something I would like to take, it restricts your gameplay a lot. To me it's simillar to Reaper- morph for VERY specific task. It has some downsides. I prefer Theseus as for 30 CP it has no downsides. I just love how much you get for mere 30 CP.

Ok, so you want to get the most out of your char. I suggest spending on APPs no more than around extra 50-100 CP.

Ok, so lets make it quick:

I. Most important Aps for Combat Char:

WIL, REF/INT, SOM, COO, COG/SAV - it that order.

II. REF - We want high REF (20-25) because: Innitiavive- very important for Combat Char. You shoot first- you kill first. At the same time (although it's not economicaly effective) it will increase your Fray, which is your most important skill. Then it will give you nice saving throws:

III. WILPOWER- We want high WIL (I like 25 and always put +5 from morph free App bonus =30) because worst thing really in EP is Stress, Trauma and other mental stuff.

Also- if you follow my guide above- you are making yourself for Combat Drugs usage. We need will to stay away from Addiction. Also if you follow guide- Pyschology/therapy knowledge skills and Psychosurgery works great with high WIL Combat Drug-Char (we heal stress on auto WILx3 and we can heal our addiction). Also we get good saving throws vs:

So as you can see although WIL does not boost any Active non-PSI skill - it's the most usefull Ap in game right after your main stat.

IV. INT- We want moderate INT (I go for 20)- because it adds to Innitiave and at the same time it will boost our Psychosurgery. Useful saving throws:

a) Alienation Test INT x 3. Good to have at least 60 here.
b) Having an idea - it's either INT x 3 or COG x 3. It's good to have a good idea when needed in RPG, so I think this can be huge in crucial situations.
c) any time you have brilliant idea and GM is "hm, throw for INT to see if you smart enough" :).

ALTERNATIVELY!- you can go higher INT (25) and go lower REF (20) for that Alienation test boost. Doesn't really matter. I like higher REF for that little bit of Role Playing part when you play hyper-fast murderous machine. BOTH ways work great! You will lose 5 points in Fray but gain 5 points in Psychosurgery, same Initiavite, so in the end- INT vs REF, go whatever you want but don't go below 20 in either one.

V. SOM- I tend to start with 20. Almost every combat/synth morph has +10 to SOM and you can easly boost it with Cyberlimbs Plus (+5 to SOM per limb), High-G, Enchanced Skeleton etc. Besides we will be on Kick and MRDR all the time so we will have at average 40 SOM with morph. But when you are without mods or in +5 SOM only morph you will still have 25- so 75 SOMx3 throws and 35 with drugs in combat- 115 throws. Good save/active throws:

All above is great for combat char. Hence why we use Drugs. Useful to have 30 here and 40 with Drugs. It will also give you in combat immidietly effective 40 in SOM active skills which is cool.

VI. COO- We don't need high COO at all. I put 10 here. HAH! Supprised? :) Well, this is where we hit min max. It's useless to spend points here because COO doesn't have even ONE saving throw in entire corebook. And isn't really useful for Combat Char who is not doing some strange things with hands apart from shotting or ripping. It also doesn't affect things like for example WIL does for Lucidity etc. It boosts weapon skills so YES, you will spend a little bit more on Weapon Skill but the Higher REF, WIL and INT will give you way more in game in game than COO. Example with 10 COO (plus Isolate + Marcurian) I had to spend 180 points to get Kinetic, Seeker and Spray to 70 (you don't really need more, smartlink gives +10, Specialization + 10 and smart ammo + 10). With 20 COO I had to spend 150 points. Ask yourself - is 30 CP worth having higher REF and WIL or WIL + SOM or REF + SOM. In my opinion- YES.

Weapon Skills are just skills (because COO does nothing really), whole rest of APs give tons of good stuff.

Remember we spend max AP points + 50-100 CP to boost WIL/REF/INT. Weapon tests are being just weapon tests, and I tend to stick only to 3, max 4 for Combat Char: Kinetic, Sprey, Seekers and maybe Throwing for grenades. COO apart from that does nothing in terms of mechanic.

VII. COG/SAV -And then COG and SAV lowest- 5 because we don't need them to anything at all. You are here to kill and interrogate. Others will handle talks.

VIII. Final Stats

In the end my stats (without morph) looks like that with 50 CP spent on 5 more Aptitude:

Effective throws- INT: 60-75. REF: 90-120. SOM- 90-120. WIL 90. We are pretty much always first in initiative with 25 INT and 40 REF, we are invurneble to knockdowns and uncountios with SOM 90-120 tests and we have 90 vs addiction plus vs any brutal/ruthless actions/stress/trauma etc in combat.

So yeah, thats my 5 cents on building pure combat char with min-maxed Aps. Of course if someone prefer more RP approach- just cut the far where you need to :)

I. First thing: max out Fray to 80 or to 90 with Expert trait. Also ask your GM if you can take Ranged specialization. Since Fray can be used vs melee, unarmed and ranged attacks (cut by half) I don't understand why there is no Ranged specialization.

Anyway- Fray is the only skill in game paired with Infosec when I consider Expert trait worth it. With 90 Fray and specialization in Full Defense (+30 to test + 10 to skill from spec) we have 45 vs ranged weapons normally (90/2= 45) or 50+30 in Full Defense=80. Which is a lot. If you know (Perception, your guts, whatever) that combat is coming, immidietly go Full Defense. This way you have 80 skill (85 with any +10 to REF and 50 without full Defense) to avoid every incoming range attack till Turn starts. If you start first vs heavy fire and you have high Speed (3 or 4) it's best to go Full Defense in your last Complex Action in this Turn- this way till next one you will have 85 skill vs ranged attacks of enemies that are still alive and attack you till your next Turn starts. This will allow you to reduce any incoming damage by BIG numbers or completely. Add to that Moxie and rerolls and you can survive whole barrage since Fray is Automatic Action. Attacker vs Defender is Opposed test- we have 85 vs Range in Full Defense + penalties for enemy if we also have cover. Dam good if I may say. Full Defense is worth it if we have Speed 3 or 4 to protect our self till next Action Turn.

Also when we use combat narcoalgorithms we will have another +10 to REF so another 5 points vs Ranged attacks :).

II. Next movement skills- Flight/Freefall/Freerunning- never seen much sense into Flight so I don't level that up, it's very situational and only useful with specific morphs or augmentations. Freerunning is debatable- I don't really use it that much. Usually I don't have to chase anything I can't shot from my weapons and even then with SOM 40 (drugs, morph bonus) + Pneumatic Limbs (Low cost) +20 to Freerunning plus 5 CP specialization (Running) = 70 skill check when you have to chase someone or run away. I don't see a point to put anything here if you play synthmorph. Pneumatic Limbs are so cheap you should always have it pre-ordered with morph.

On the other hand I really like Freefall- a lot of habitats have 0g or microgravity, also since we are in space- there is a lot of situations when your hacker can turn off gravity or there is some gravity malfunction or you have to check some disabled station/habitat without gravity. You will also use it in Full Defense instead of Fray (if it's better in that situation) in microgravity. Freefall allows you for great combat manouvers in micro g. I try to have here 60 unmodified (before morph/gear bonuses) with specialization microgravity= 70 skill. With Narcoalgorithms active we will have 80 skill here and eventual morph bonus=85.

So: Freefall >> Freerunning >>>>>>> Flight.

III. Combat Skills next I tend to choose 3 with Kinetic Weapons ALWAYS included. Next I go for either Seekers or Thorwing weapons and then usually for Spray weapons.

Overall I prefer Seeker weapons. My favourite one is underbarrel. It's Moderate so High for blueprint and it can be attached to your Assault Rifle. That means you can fire from it immidietly without having to sacrifice actions to pull out new weapon etc. So I like to take specialization in Underbarrel and combine it with Assault Rifle to make very veristile, ranged, ready for anything platform.

All weapon skills I like to cap at 70. I don't think you need really more. You get +10 from Smartlink to all of them (Kinetic, Seeker and Spray), +10 from Specialization (you will use only Shredder from Sprays anyway :) ) and +10 from smart ammo (Homing for both Firearms and Seekers) and +5 from narcoalgorithm Phlo and maybe +5 from morhps. So overall we will have 95 for Firearms (105 for specialization), 95 for Seekers (105 from specialization) and 85 for Spray (95 for Shredder). Considering we should always take Murder Simulator Addict (ignore -10 modifier for call shots to heads) + moxies + rerolls etc. we don't need more.

IV. Specializations: I like to take

Kinetic- Assault Rifle and Seekers: Underbarrel. With that we have most versitle personal weapon platform. Good Range, Good magazine (30 with Smart Magazine), good CC (Overload grenade, Splash with Toxins/Nanotoxins) and good damage (FA + Hollow Points = -4 AP 6d10+6 or 2x -4 AP 4d10+6 with bursts + HEAP/Plasmaburst/Frag/Thermobaric micromissles). Also with this setup you can do nasty combo of splash seekers with Liquid Thermite + couple of zap rounds in your smart magazine. Your first Action - Hit enemies with thermite than burst fire with AR zap round two targets dealing them full Liquid Thermite damage for 3 Action Turns and destroying their armor for your next Actions! Next Action go for Hollow Points (since they should have all their armor stripped now thanks to Liquid Thermite) and go for full damage against them. If you GM prefer that Liquid does not burn immidietly but at the end of Turn - simply do the combo at your last complex action and strip enemies armor for next Turn. Another great combo is Overload micromissle + zap rounds vs biomorph enemies. -30 to Actions from overload + -30 from zap rounds= -60 to everything. No need to change weapons! You can do more combos I guess :)

Hence why I love Assault Rifle + Underbarrel Seeker combo.

Use Assault Rifle in FA vs Heavier Armor enemies (6d10 damage) that keep distance or vs group of enemies (underbarrell). People like dual wield heavy pistols however you look at 2 Complex Actions here to reload both pistol. In case of Assault Rifle you can make reverse-tap clip (page 193 corebook) and make it Quick Action.

For Spray I always go for Shredder and honestly never used other Spray Weapons. Buy blueprints for it once and go to town. If you have credits- conceale it in your arms. I use shredder vs anything that tries to (god know why) melee me or charge me and in small spaces. It has same distance as Heavy Pistol (0-10m) and dual wielding Shredders/Shards will always be better. And they have 100 magazine size- meaning Full Auto all day baby.

The only way Pistols are better than Shredders are when you use Accushot Smart Ammo and ignore distance modifiers. However, I still prefer AR + Underbarrel combo here.

You can of course bump them all to 80 leve if you want to feel really secure. But I think that would be little CP waste. But hey- it's your combat monster :)

V. Don't bother with Melee skills Trust me, melee is useless. If someone attacks you in melee and you are naked just go Full Defense and have 140 skill vs their melee= good luck hitting you. Also Shredder will ALWAYS win melee fight- always. Full Auto + close range 1d10 damage for Spray weapons = -10 AP 6d10 +5 damage. With Speed 3 (our minimum with narcos) or 4 you will terminate any melee freak faster than they can realize your 90 Fray is giving them middle finger. Sure we have -30 modifier being in melee with range weapon. But we also have +10 from being at Point Blank range so we suffer -20 modifier. With 95 in Spray weapons (Smartlink, Specialization + Phol without morph bonus) we have 75 skill with 90 Fray vs melee enemy who has 9% chance at best to hit us and have half of his own Fray vs our Shredder. Just don't bother. Even with Kinetic you will be better.

VI. Other Crucial Skills .

Go for Physchosurgery (I take 80 here)- healing your addition (if you happen to have one somehow with 30 WIL), healing your stress/traumas etc. Take 2 complementary skill to it (Psychology to 80 from software plus Profession: Psychotherapy) for lovely +30 bonus.

Other- I like 2 Networking Skills at 40 + Specializations.

Other skills- what you want. I recommend to take Skillsoft in Hardware: Robotics (40) and take Perception to 70 without modifiers, spec: Visual (works great with Tacnet and 360 vision).

When you purchase skillsofts, you don't have to use them, your muse or any other AI resident in your Mesh Inserts/ghostrider module/nearby robots or ectos on your PVN, also have access to the skillsofts, without them needing Skillware; core book pg 331.

—

Your definition of horror is meaningless to me.......
I. Am. A Bay12'er.

When you purchase skillsofts, you don't have to use them, your muse or any other AI resident in your Mesh Inserts/ghostrider module/nearby robots or ectos on your PVN, also have access to the skillsofts, without them needing Skillware; core book pg 331.

Absolutely.
Get your Muse to jam a handy Creepy or other bot and get a teamwork bonus on top. Automech is great for this as it also comes with tools!

Nice mate! I missed that one. Since my combat char runs all the time with Hacker in Ghostrider (they are 2-man team in one body) that means that my Skillsofts: Infiltration, Hardware: Robotics and Research/Investigation suddenly will have +20 bonus + specialization + gear. Nice.

Just a note that in this setting there's no Star Trek magical artificial gravity, so a hacker can't exactly turn off gravity.
You can spin down a habitat, but this is probably a multi-day process. If you're on a ship, the hacker can stop the ship, but you were almost certainly in microgravity already (none of the ships approach 1g acceleration).

Just a note that in this setting there's no Star Trek magical artificial gravity, so a hacker can't exactly turn off gravity.
You can spin down a habitat, but this is probably a multi-day process. If you're on a ship, the hacker can stop the ship, but you were almost certainly in microgravity already (none of the ships approach 1g acceleration).

None of which changes the fact that Freefall is a very useful skill.

Good point. However I think a high skilled Hacker (like 190 Infosec with all bonuses :P ) could stop station that is spinning to create gravity inside no problem. It would take time or direct access to control panel but I think it could be possible to hook to station controls and use command to stop spinning. But yes- there is no artificial gravity in EP. I guess I got to used to standard SF bs :).

I know many of you may think about investing in Beam Weapons just for Plasma Rifle. It's after all strongest portable weapon in game. It's has Concentrate Fire option which gives x2 (!) DV of your first shot in Complex Action. On everage that can be anything from 43 to even more than 100 damage- enough to one shot almost everything. Using Concentrate Fire always in 95% guarantees 1 or more wounds to target. Not only that by with MoS 30%+ we set target on fire 2d10 per Action Turn till his extinguished. .

So why not just buy Blueprint for it (cost one higher than Expensive- ouch..) and craft it anytime you egocast?

Well, there are few things to remember here- Beam Weapons are generally weak and useless, apart from that Plasma Rifle. So you invest tens of CP only to use ONE effective weapon really that is Expensive.

See- the same power you can get from having Seeker Rifle [High] with HEAP or Thermobaric minimissles (6 by default magazine) with Proximity Ammo (-1 AP +2 DV) getting you 2 shots per Complex Action for -9 3d10+14 with HEAP rounds. The total cost of blueprints here are- Expensive (20,000) for Seeker Rifle + High for HEAP rounds= 25k. It's still not the same damage but we can use Seekers in a lot of different things- Crowd Control, toxins, chemicals, Seeker Pistol is good, Seeker Underbarrel is good, every Seeker is good.

Now there is more important stuff: Plasma rifle is huge, bulky pretty much anti-tank weapon. You can't hide it or anything and if there is any weapon that 100% is illegal everywhere or brings trouble is this in your hands. Will you walk around habitat with it? Imagine someone runs casual in your city with 20mm cannon or Javelin launcher.

Assault Rifle, SMG can be hidden under nice big cloak, is portably and with some fake ID as body guard, policeman, Direct Action contractor etc. you can get away with having them. But Plasma Rifle? I don't think so. Of course it depends on GM, but generally in most habitats it's already hard to get your hands on firearm, not mentioning huge bulky plasma cannon.

And you can equip underbarrel to SMGs/ARs, but not to Plasma Rifle.

Also in close distance Shredder can pack not really less punch that Plasma Rifle. -10 AP 6d10 + 5 vs -9 AP 3d10 + 20. That is maximum of -10 AP 65 dmg vs -9 AP 50 dmg. On average it's -10 AP 35 dmg vs -9 AP 35 dmg. So in close space (up to 10 meters) you are still one-shot most things with Shredder. Of course again Concentrate Fire doubles that damage if you hit with first hit, but with Sprays we have a lot more usefull weapons- Freezer is great, Shard Pistol is great, we can hit up to 3 targets at long distance for -10 5d10 +5 damage with toxins/nanotoxins Buzzer and Sprayer is also usefull for their costs when you need less "obvious" ways to disable enemies. And Sprays are also much more popular, easier to find and get and they can be easly hide (especially Shard and Shredder). There are roleplay things only that makes Plasma Rifle harder to use.

Same with Kinetics- all weapons are good, no matter which one you find/get on mission- you can have success with it.

Is Plasma Rifle worth blueprint? Yes. But is it worth to pack 80CP into Beam Weapon for only one weapon? Not really. And Plasma Rifle is last weapon you would be able to wield openly anywhere. Even among anarchists or scum you would be persona non-grata no. 1

Also woth Plasma Rifle you are unable to use anything extra- Ammo types, Smart ammo, toxins/nanotoxins, zap rounds, accessories, underbarrel etc. This is one trick pony.

If you really want to wield Plasma Rifle I would drop Spray Weapons and take Beam Instead. Because equiping Shredder would still need from you to drop your primary weapon and they deal pretty much same deadly damage in close distance.

Kinetics are too popular, veristile and spread to drop them and Seekers are always good to have. So you will still use your Assault Rifle with underbarel to deal with most, and pull your Plasma Rifle when you really need to pack a punch. However I strongly recommend then getting blueprint of Plasma Rifle at start because getting them later in game might be very very challanging and much more expensive.

There are a lot of skills you can still "rock" or boost even if you invest heavy in Combat skills mostly. I will give few tips here:

- Behavioral software (5CP High)- give Academics: Psychology: 80. Great if you take Psychotherapy and Psychosuregry. You pretty much always get +20-30 bonuses to all of them.

- Skillsoft: Infiltration - 40 infiltration. Buy yourself Chameleon Cloack [Low] and Chameleon Skin [Low] and have your Muse helping you (Since she uses your Skillsofts- roleplay like giving you tactical info, helping you find best poistion/route etc.) + Specialization Sneaking = 40+30 (on move) + 10 (on move) +10 (Team bonus) + 10 (Specialization) = 99 Infiltration when Sneaking. Which is mostly what you gonna do as Combat Char- sneak to kill or to get to better poistion/past enemies lines. Blending/Shadowing is not really your field and Hiding is useless since when you are steady Cloack makes you hidden on auto. It costs super low to stack all of this. You can also I guess take your time to Sneak/Hide. One of the easiest skill to stack.

- Hardware: Robotics. Specialization: Robotics. Buy Skillsoft = 40 base. Wrist Mounted Tool +20, Specialization + 10, Muse bonus +10= 80 Robotics immidietly when you need fast repairs. If not under fire- extra time rules and you can fix yourself no problem. 40 is all you need as max bonus for extra time is +60.

- Demolitions- used for making explosives. Specialization. Skillsoft: 40. Per RAW: 1 hour per 1d10 damage of bomb. We wanna make 10d10 bomb.= 10 hours. Muse helps us (+10). For every +10 to test 50% longer time. We want +40. That is extra 200% time = 30 hours. 40+10+10+40=99. This is not to make bomb/explosive under stressfull situation, but enough to prepare something nasty before mission (on on the long mission). Remember by RAW you can stop working and get back to it where you droped it. So lets say you work one day 10h, second day 10 and third 10. Placing with 40 base + extra time +60 to place charge =99. Again- not for rush job, but if you have time...

- Research/Scrouining- same. Get to 40 or buy Skillsoft. No specialization. +10 from muse. Every extra minute +10 to max +60= 99. 40 is all you need here. Plus Team bonus lol.

- Networking. I like to do it this way: Networking 40 only + 80 rep score (Level 5 favours). When we need something we have- 40 + 10 (Muse) + 60 from taking our time = 110. You can add to that Knowledge Skills bonus (Interst: Hypercorp politics/Criminal groups etc.) and we have more than that. Since we have rep 80 (40 CP) we do not have any modifiers for highest favour. Pretty easy. Now add to that Team Work bonus etc. and you can go higher in test if you want to Keep it Quiet (I never do).

I stongly recommend to have two 80 rep factions from start. I prefer: Hypercorps and Criminals. Why? If there are two "factions" that are EVERYWHERE in transhuman system or have interests everywhere in transhuman system to get profits- those are hypercorps and criminals. If there are places where Hypercorps do not have power (outer anarchist systems)- Criminals are everywhere. Everywhere. Where is society- there are criminals. Or exchange on for Firewall- by theory they are also everywhere.

This is cheaper in CP and more effective than 0 Rep but high Networking. Although both ways work.

- Blades/Unarmed- with this build you have 40 SOM on narcoalgos, take specialization in Unarmed or Blades= 50. 50 is really enough to defend your self when you HAVE to. So no points here.

- Investigation - Skillsoft: 40. Muse + 10. Oracles (software) + 10, Event Reconstruction Software + 20, Taking Extra Time +60 = 140 + Team work. Investigation is one of the easiest skills in EP to pass. Even with -60 we would have TV 80 before full Team work bonus.

All good points about the Plasma Rifle, but what about it’s counterpart, the Plasma Cutter?

While ostensibly an industrial tool with a restrictive range, it has just about as much armor penetration, and equivalent damage (before factoring in the chance to set fires) to it’s military counterpart. While large, cumbersome and etc, the Plasma Cutter also has a built in advantage it’s rifle counterpart doesn’t have: It doesn’t overheat.

Granting that the overheating mechanics only come into play in Vacuum environments, it is still a fair consideration given that sentienels can easily find themselves in such places. Anything that comes out of a Plasma Rifle volley alive could theoretically cut down the wielder, who might now be bereft of their most powerful offensive option in a make-or-break situation when it comes to their turn. Plasma cutters, with their built-in cooling system, could go until either the target or the wielder gets vaporized, regardless of the environment.

Also granting Plasma Cutters are large, cumbersome and conspicuous, they might be less conspicuous than actual firearms, simply because: they are tools. Industrial tools can easily be covered for, or explained away as necessary for the supposed task at hand.

Add in to that, the likelyhood most places might not have an open volume longer or taller than 30 meters (double a Cutters stated max range). In open fields this becomes more problematic, and more adaptable weapons (ballistics/seekers) would trump a Cutters limited range - which still allows a plasma cutter user to respond to close range threats within their effective range.

Just some thoughts I had on more ‘improvised weapons’, and what seems to be the grand daddy of improvised implements of doom.

All good points about the Plasma Rifle, but what about it’s counterpart, the Plasma Cutter?

While ostensibly an industrial tool with a restrictive range, it has just about as much armor penetration, and equivalent damage (before factoring in the chance to set fires) to it’s military counterpart. While large, cumbersome and etc, the Plasma Cutter also has a built in advantage it’s rifle counterpart doesn’t have: It doesn’t overheat.

Granting that the overheating mechanics only come into play in Vacuum environments, it is still a fair consideration given that sentienels can easily find themselves in such places. Anything that comes out of a Plasma Rifle volley alive could theoretically cut down the wielder, who might now be bereft of their most powerful offensive option in a make-or-break situation when it comes to their turn. Plasma cutters, with their built-in cooling system, could go until either the target or the wielder gets vaporized, regardless of the environment.

Also granting Plasma Cutters are large, cumbersome and conspicuous, they might be less conspicuous than actual firearms, simply because: they are tools. Industrial tools can easily be covered for, or explained away as necessary for the supposed task at hand.

Add in to that, the likelyhood most places might not have an open volume longer or taller than 30 meters (double a Cutters stated max range). In open fields this becomes more problematic, and more adaptable weapons (ballistics/seekers) would trump a Cutters limited range - which still allows a plasma cutter user to respond to close range threats within their effective range.

Just some thoughts I had on more ‘improvised weapons’, and what seems to be the grand daddy of improvised implements of doom.

Plasma Cutter is not bad, but still not worth it imo. -8 2d10 + 8. With concentrate fire that gives -8 4d10 + 16. On average= -8 36 dmg. Not bad. But Assault Rife on FA with biter ammo will do -6 6d10 + 6. On average = -6 36 dmg. Pretty simillar, while having a lot of other options. It's not bad weapon but having restricted range of 15 meters makes it pretty useless vs Shredder (which can still cover long ranges hitting up to 3 targets) and Assault Rifle does simillar damage while covering much longer range. Not to mention price [HIGH] on Plasma Cutter vs AR [moderate] and shredder [moderate]. You can get AR bluepring for it's cost.

Still, it's a good option if you don't have spray weapons skill. It's ok to hide it as tool, but it's pricey tool :)

There is a possibility of crazy strong combat build. But it requires another player who preferably would be a hacker. Or you can make yourself a hacker and use Alpha Forks.

The way to work. Max out Pilot: Groundcraft/Synthmorphs with Specialization. Max out Gunnery. Now have other play to sit in combat synthmorph shell cyberbrain and you ride in ghostrider as "mecha pilot". Make sure morph has Puppet Socket. When it comes to combat you use Puppet Socket to Pilot synthmorph. This way you use Pilot skills for all shell movement and Gunnery for handling EVERY weapon you can wield. It's nice to save CP on weapon skills. It's fun build :).

Another version is- have team hacker in your ghostrider and have 2 more limbs but don't buy more Ambidex. Just give control to those two limbs to hacker with high Gunnery and you can max damage output.

Some morphs enable this a bit more easily than others. Obviously the Fenrir comes to mind, but Flexbots are something a bit more affordable (and easily accessed).

Each comes with a puppet sock and cyberbrain, which can house independant egos like a ghost-rider, so you could effectively build a multi-ego deathbot with a few modules stuck together (or convert something a bit more deadly, like a Reaper, by adding Modular Design).

Add to the fact that Shape Adjusting allows for some rediculous “bush robot of limbs” ideas, and this can get plain unfair.

Some morphs enable this a bit more easily than others. Obviously the Fenrir comes to mind, but Flexbots are something a bit more affordable (and easily accessed).

Each comes with a puppet sock and cyberbrain, which can house independant egos like a ghost-rider, so you could effectively build a multi-ego deathbot with a few modules stuck together (or convert something a bit more deadly, like a Reaper, by adding Modular Design).

Add to the fact that Shape Adjusting allows for some rediculous “bush robot of limbs” ideas, and this can get plain unfair.

I never really researched FlexBot build enough and it's Modular Design. Could you elaborate for me please about making combat build with FlexBot?

Alpha Forks and multi-weapon wielding

Since we are at this topic- there is very easy way for combat monster to skip stupid Ambidex penalty. The way I normally do it is make Alpha Fork (I love cyberbrains because of it) and place it in Ghostrider [Low] and give it control on my additional two arms. You can have one Alpha per pair of extra Limbs with your full skills (and 2x/3x Perception Tests etc.) and then merge after fight. Hence why I like Ego Plasticity (2) trait. It's optional by gives -2 SV to merging which makes you use Alphas for max 24h without any SV (unless failure but we have 85 Psychosurgery plus bonuses).

This way instead of paying 30 CP for 3x ambidex (4 limbs) you pay [Low] for Ghostriders modules (1 per pair of limbs) and just placing Alpha there. And we save 20 CP to get some better traits (like Ego Plasticity which I love). Even beta forks with "just" 60 weapon skills will still have effective TV (Smartlink, Quick Aim, Homing ammo, Specialization) of 100 when shooting. Then it is even legal :). This is easiest way to ignore off-hand penalties and super easy to pull off as synthmorph thanks to easy forking and giving command to your body implants.

Of course forking is generally super strong- 4 cases/guardians/drones with our combat monster alphas inside will tear a new one in any enemy squad. Hence why I like ego plasticity. But you can totally skip this trat and keep forks for shorter time. There a lot more traits to take since we save CP on ambidex.

Also with forks you decrease cumulative penalty for targeting more enemies since each of your fork is independent so penalties are per "person". Not that usefull but also good.

Although 1 ambidex trait is always a must for combat monster. Even without forks with 2 extra limbs you can:

EDIT: Worth to mention: since your forks are also digital (basicelly infomorphs) in ghostrider and they are "aware" egos- they can also use your skillsofts and Narcoalgorithms/Softwares because they have access to your Mesh Inserts. So you are really really one scary motherfucker... A true warfare specialist.

I never really researched FlexBot build enough and it's Modular Design. Could you elaborate for me please about making combat build with FlexBot?

In short: a Flexbot is any Synthmorph with

Modular Design

Shape Adjusting

Note: The Morph Recognition Guide states all Flexbot morphs/modules from earlier publications are intended to have/require the above augments in order to qualify as flexbots. Flexbot modules which were listed without the augments in question were a case of editorial oversight.

So using either the standard flexbot line, or other synthmorphs that have Shape Adjusting already - and augmented with Modular Design - you can put together a pretty formidable, but expensive, doombot.

Because of how involved Flexbot rules and design can get, I use a couple of terms exclusive to the whole system.
Flexbot: The composite end-result of combining the various modules; the Flexbot as a single ‘Morph’, regardless of the number or type of modules in it’s construction.
Module: An individual component of the greater Flexbot.

Stuff of note:

Flexbot Modules all have the standard Cyberware package for egos (Access Jacks, Cortical Stack, Cyberbrain, Mesh Inserts, Puppet Sock). Each module can house a full Ego (in the Cyberbrain) and attending Muse/AI (in the Mesh Inserts OR a spare Cyberbrain).

The controlling Ego/Ai can use and control the wares of the entire Flexbot without issue. Passengers can control any Articulated Gear/Weapon mounts not being used by the main ego, the mesh inserts of the module they inhabit, and the passive sensors of the Flexbot.

Passengers using a module take that modules Aptitude bonus for themselves - and away from the controlling ego until the passenger is evacuated or relinquishes control. This can easily be rectified by having specific modules configured to house Egos for the purposes of joint control (3 or more Wizard modules with Parallel Processors for free teamwork on mental actions).

A single ego can alpha-fork themselves on the fly (but not beta fork without previous preparations for such) as many times as the cyberbrains, mesh inserts, stacks and ghost riders (if any) can manage.

Flexbots get larger at certain DUR milestones, and are capable of reaching large, very large, or even habitat sized (in extreme examples).

Armour is averaged across all the connected modules of the flexbot.

Certain augments require each module to have it installed individually to be effective.

With all that, the other side of Flexbot superiority comes from their Shape Adjusting, which allows them to, among other things:

Squeeze into very small spaces, or unusual spaces not designed for humanoid bodies.

Duplicate limbs and certain limb wares (Prehensile Feet/Tail).

Duplicate mobility systems across all of the attached modules of the Flexbot - potentially replacing existing mobility systems.

Form unusual shapes, such as architecture, or disguise as other objects of similar size.

Flexbots basically have a lot of flexibility (see what they did thar?) but it gets fiddley and expensive, depending on the build. A fair few of the modules are pretty interesting, and have some elements like (in no particular order):

Longbow: High base armor, multiple articulated weapon mounts.

Wizard: Mental Speed and radio booster.

Apiary: Attachable swarm-bot, could use swarm rules on melee attacks.

Beekeeper: Hosts 4 different dedicated nanoswarms (players choice as to which ones) and nanoswarm detection gear.

Yup. Those are the only limitations, and Transhuman points out that even non-ego carrying vehicles can also have the Modular Design/Shape Adjusting augments installed - and are viable to attach to an ego-bearing Flexbot (or the whole thing could be controlled by an Operator AI).

One thing I forgot to note for Flexbot health: Modules can be dropped off in combat, or after, and can take damage/wounds with the module being detached, at the cost of the modules health being taken away from the total of the Flexbot (half the Modules DUR when acting as a morph on it’s own).

Basically Flexbots can become meatshields of the highest caliber, withe a few augments meant to further enable this (Mass Transfer, in particular).

1. So, you really want four arms to carry/fire 2x AR? Why not use the Combined Arms red box in the Core and simply put both ARs in the same weapon, no need to buy extra arms, ambidexterity, no need for off-hand penalties, and you can still duct-tape the under-barrel grenadeSeeker-launcher underneath. You might only be able to do this once before the GM starts doing their best to get rid of the weapon. Be best to purchase that as a blueprint, so that even if you lose the weapon, you might be given the chance to make a replacement.

—

Your definition of horror is meaningless to me.......
I. Am. A Bay12'er.

1. So, you really want four arms to carry/fire 2x AR? Why not use the Combined Arms red box in the Core and simply put both ARs in the same weapon, no need to buy extra arms, ambidexterity, no need for off-hand penalties, and you can still duct-tape the under-barrel grenadeSeeker-launcher underneath. You might only be able to do this once before the GM starts doing their best to get rid of the weapon. Be best to purchase that as a blueprint, so that even if you lose the weapon, you might be given the chance to make a replacement.

According to corebook, combined arms and brand weapons should be GM decision first, so in my opinion doing it yourself would be little... well, it could start bad.

Also I still prefer to hold 2x seperate ARs because then I have 2x underbarrell seekers. Besides 2x Extra Limbs cost only 2x [Low] price so I don't see a problem in here.

Besides in theory if you have Shape Adjustment you can just "make" yourself 2 extra arms. You can change your "external features" as long as you keep your mass.

As for traits for Combat char (assuming you are following guide and play synthmorph) I have few that I think are mandatory for every combat monster:

1. Ambidex lvl 1 - always. It straight up doubles damage you can do.
2. Murder Simulator Addict - ignoring -10 to headshots is better than you think. Head is very often place where enemies have no armor so your GM may allow this called shot to bypass armor, heads are usually first thing enemy shows when he moves or peaks from behind cover and with this trait- generally best called shot area.
3. Ego Plasticity (2)- I love it since using forks in combat gives you a lot of advantage (like skipping of hand penalty, being able to make your own death squad fast etc.). With thir trait lvl 2 you can have alpha forks up to 24h and on merg test you won't receive any SV.

Great traits to consider if you don't want some of above:
1. TacNet Sniper- can be very good for seekers.
2. Pain Tolerance 2 if you do not play Synthmorph (with build above you already ignore 3 wounds as synthmorph so no need for it). Biomorphs will find it usefull when striped naked.
3. Situational Awareness - for biomorphs (since as synth we are using Oracle software so we ignore distraction penalty anyway).
4. Dominant Strain - for when you build TITAN hunter.

General rule when I choose traits: you want to avoid getting traits that you can easly mimic with software or cheap gear. Best to take traits that offer something that you normally can't get from anything else.

We want to reinforce our Ego first as Synthmorph so we take EVERYTHING crucial to this build that egocast with us- you don't have to take all at once, but try to take as much as possible since all below is permanent for our combat char.

1. Narcoalgorithms- MRDR, Klar, Drive, Phol, Kick etc.
2. Software Plug-ins implants (only informorphs and cyberbrains): Oracles, Skillware are must (full list of Software Plug-Ins here: Skillware, Mental Speed, Endoctrine Control, Drugs, Memory Lock, Mental Speed, Oracles, Parallel Processor)
3. Software: Skillsofts, Behavioral Psych (if you are doing Psychosurgery combat build, if not- skip), Kinesics software, Event Reconstruction Software (if you can squish CP, not that necessary), Firewall, Ectos.
4. Two very important Software Plug-In: Hacking Alert and Persistence. Both combine will give any hacker trying to hack your cyberbrain total of -40 to Infosec. That a lot when facing the standard NPC hacker in game. It will add to other difficulties he has to face (Firewall, your team hacker etc. etc.). And both cost [Low] so you MUST get them.
5. Upgardes (only for informorphs and Cyberbrains)- Mental Repair, Mental Stability. Both are absolutely great. Mental Repair lets you take WILx3 tests DAILY to heal 1 point of Stress. You can't heal Trauma/Disorders with it, but you can heal stress fully and then take Psychotherapy WILx3 test to eliminate Trauma. Mental Stability is must have. It increases Lucidity by +5, which also increases Trauma Threshold by +1 and Insanity Rating by +10. Great stuff.
6. Blueprints- only if you pushed above to max and have CP to still spend.

Implants/Physical stuff- only few things. Ask your GM first if it's even wise to spend anything here before you start burning CP on things you can easly loose.

Just a note that in this setting there's no Star Trek magical artificial gravity, so a hacker can't exactly turn off gravity.
You can spin down a habitat, but this is probably a multi-day process. If you're on a ship, the hacker can stop the ship, but you were almost certainly in microgravity already (none of the ships approach 1g acceleration).

None of which changes the fact that Freefall is a very useful skill.

Good point. However I think a high skilled Hacker (like 190 Infosec with all bonuses :P ) could stop station that is spinning to create gravity inside no problem. It would take time or direct access to control panel but I think it could be possible to hook to station controls and use command to stop spinning. But yes- there is no artificial gravity in EP. I guess I got to used to standard SF bs :).

Uh... Yes but no, ubik2 is right IMO. Sure, you can access station controls and just "flip the switch" to start the process. From there on out it's a matter of physics, though, specifically angular momentum.
To stop a station's rotation, you need as much energy as for spinning it up in the first place, which, considering the mass that a station has, is a lot. So you can blow a lot of volatiles out of its "navigational" thrusters, which is probably the best way to change the rotation as fast as possible, but on the same token, you'll run out of volatiles fast. Xiphos is probably the only station in the system with enough volatiles to get to zero rotation at all.
The other method is gyroscopes, which is in all likelihood also how the station spun up in the first place, and how it compensates for all the minute influences that the station is subject to. Here, if you try to change the rotation speed too fast, the gyroscopes will tear themselves out of their bracing. Good way to make repair crews scratch their heads concerning how to spin the gyro down to weld it back into place, but not helpful for the task at hand. And that also only happens *if* the motors are stronger than the bracing, otherwise you're limited by those.
Either way, in anything that deserves to call itself "station", you'll have a lot of mass with all the inertia that that brings, and only little means to exert force. Because why would a station have a lot of that in the first place? Once it gets up to speed after having been built, it'll just keep spinning.

The SMG's and Rail Pistols are loaded into a combat webbing / holsters
The Shredder and the Rocket Launcher are both on lanyards strapped to the back
This is all hidden behind a Poncho and a sombrero, both with camo cloaking
Samsa also has camo cloaking skin

Plan is:
Empty the clip on the SMG's
Ditch SMG's, Draw Rail Pistols
Empty the clip on Rail Pistols
Spray and Pray with Combo Rifle
Finish up with the Missile Launcher